Voting-machine.



C. E. SPALDING.

VOTING MGHINB.

AnuoATIoN FILED snPT.1'r,1sos.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

IN1/wrox 2M u E #wwf /fvl ATTORNEYS".

WITNESSES, "9? ma/73km @W wffffwww( UNITED STATES PATENT Oli`lilCE.

oLARENcE a4 sr.\'l'.lnNG, oF MADISON, wiscoNMN. Y f i' APPltiOn *11011 September 1'1, 1906. serial No. 334,871."

To allywhom it may concern:

Be it known that l, CLARENon E. Sinnlo- INo, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Madison, in the county of Dane and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Voting Vlaeliines, of which the following is a. specification.

My invention relates to improvements in voting machines especially adapted to use what is known as theAustralian ballot.

Figurel, Fig. Il, is a rear View of the cutter and the registering mechanism. Fig. III, isla top view of the voting machine. Fig. 1V is a detail View of the bell and its connections.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

l n Fig. l, 1 is the side of the ballot box', 2 is a portion of the cover, which extends across the width of the box and meets the top rim of the sides, l, of the box and is rigidly attached to, l, 3 is a section of plate class, 'held in position by, 4, which is a rame, preferably of hard wood, which meets the top rim ol', 1, and is removably attached to, 1, with means for locking it to, 1. This plate Gla-ss, 3, overlaps the part, 2, of the covereaving a narrow opening, 5, between the plate lass, 3, and the part, 2, of the top. 6, is a baot in position, showingtlie ballot inserted between the part, 2, and the part, 3, with the printed portion of the ballot on the upper side of and directly under and visible through the part, 3. The ballot, 6, passes throu 'h the opening, 5, and is shown extended an ready to be sheared oil' and dropped into the box, as a completed ballot, at 6. The ballot is a part of and isv unrolled from, 7, which is a roll of ballots incloserl Within the box, upon the shaft, 8, as shown.`

9, and,10,are rollers placed so that their cir cumferences come in Contact, as shown, and covered with some flexible material, refer-- ably rubber, between which the ba lot, 6, passes in its progress to 6. These are controlled by a hand wheel, 11, shown in Fig. III. On the same shaft on which the roller, 10, is laced, and outside the box proper, is a notched Wheel, 12, rigidly attached to the shaft of the roller, 10. This notched Wheel is controlled by the part, 13, attached to the outside of the ballot box, the Whole being to prevent the rollers from being turned in the Wrong direction.

Specification of Letters Patent.

is a diagrammaticcross-section- A I spring,

iietentedivec. i5, 1908;

lll, is a cast iron frania'ftirnily attachedlo the ballot box by the screw bolts, 1 5an l.l"V in Fig. ll. The frame, ll,. is proiileil ,y an opening, 1G, shoiynnlso in Flin, through which the ballot Vpasses in, itsV progress to the ballot boxaliter the vote lnisbeen registered. I. E

Closely against tlienjezin siclefi'iV the ,cast iron frame, ll, and` in ,potion so.t as to ,eaye the opening, lli, ui'iobstructed, when the bal,- lot passing througlfi, `l,fis `a entrerbaiylf,

shown also in Fig. ll,'\rljiicli,is attached to the lever, 18, by theboltnt', lfhptlle lever, 18, is attach-ed to the cast iron fraine,` -1'l,by the holt, 20; all of which is 'nioreffully shown in Fig. Il.

2l is a bell, Whichlis. firmly attached to a projection of `the ,cast iron freine,1l, by the threaded bolt passing through the bell and into the projection from, la', hereinafter described. The bell, Elpis `,:noritled with a ratchet wheel, 123, toA which are attached proper hammers 23 for ringing the bell. This ratchet is operated by a toothed bar, 9A, (toothed as shown at 24. irllfig. 7111) and attached to the lever, 18v.at,25`, ahd also attached to the part, 14, by a spiral 26, by meansof the projecting part, 27, shown in Fig. l1, sothat ,the `levei, l8, is always kcpt'in position by the siggring, 1:26,7 and the bell, 2l, is always rung lby any opy eration of the lever, 18.

the shaft, 8, into the ballot box and for in dicating the deposit of the ballot, by means of the bell, is a case, 28, of any desired niatefrial, preferably japanned iron, which isnt,- tached to the part, proper screw at 29, and by such other .means as may be expedient. T iis part, 28, comes down nearly to the part, 2, leaving a narrow opening, 30, between the part, 2, and the part, 28. This part., 28,- is slotted tore ce'ive the lever, 14, and to permit its iree action, as shown at 3l, in Fig. lll. The ballot is exposed at the opening between and, 30, which opening is wide Venough to lpermit the markinnT ot' the ballot at. that point. To adapt the length ot this opening-1' to any width. of ballot, are metal plates. 3Q, adapt ed to lock into and to slide in the vtold ofthe case, 28, at 33, and 'provided `with set screws, 34, (Fig. III) to hold the plate in permanent position, when adjusted.

Fig. Il shows the part, 35, which is a link @ver this entire mechanism for projecting the ballot vfrom fl, of the ballot box by'a i' of steel, 14',

attached both to the cutter bar, 17, and to the part, 14, to control the action of the cutter bar. i

3G, and, 3T, are springs firmly attached to the cast iron frame, 14, and extending down outside of the cutter bar to hold it in place as it is operated.

The lever, 18, is so constructed and so attached tojhe cutter bar, 17, as to give it both a downward and a shearing motion; an effective cutting edge is provided by a piece rmly attached to a groove in 14, on the lower side of the o ening, 16, and forming the lower edge Aof t e opening, 16,

in the part, 14.

38, is a projection either cast as a part of 14, or attached to it, to which the bell, 21, is attached for indicating the deposit of a ballot in the box. The frame, 14, is attached to the sides, 1, of the box by any suitable means, Asuch as the screw, shown at 15, and 15', of Fig. II.

Fig. III shows a top vlew of the box,

' illustrating the manner in which the ballots throwing it over to the extreme right of the slot 31, 1n the case, 28, thereby driving the cutter bar, 17, downward in a sheering motion and cutting otfthe marked ballot, 6', which then drops into the ballot box as the completed ballot of the voter. The same process of drawing the lever, 18, over, as

. above described, rings the bell, 21, indicating that the voter has cast his ballot, and when the lever, 18, is released, the bell, 21, rings again to indicate that the lever has returnec to position'properly. The exposed space on the ballot Where the opportunity given the voter to mark the ballot is adustably narrower than the width of the allot itself. so that the margins of the bal lot extend bevond the extremities of the opening, thereby making it impossible for the voter to insert a fraudulent ballot unless the ballot he inserts is either folded on its edges, or, is narrower than the official ballot, in either of which cases, the fraudulent ballot would be easil discoverable.

The purpose o this votin machine is to accomp ish the rotective eatures of the Australian bal ot'and similar ballots, and at the same time, dispense with at least two, and probably more of the election olicers.

What I claim as my invention, Aand desire to secure by Letters Patent, is z- 1. The combination with a casin a continuous sheet and rolls for moving t e same, a cutter extending across said sheet, and suitably supported, a lever for moving said cutter, a s ring supported toothed bar connected to t 1e lever, and a bell adapted to be operated by said toothed bar.

2. In a voting machine the combination with a casing, a shaft carrying a continuous sheet and rolls for movi said sheet, a cutter extending over said s eet, a link and lever pivotally supporting saidcutter, and a series of springs bearing against said cutter.

3. In a voting mach1ne,'the combination with a casin having an opening providing access for in icating a vote, a shaft carrying a continuous ballot sheet, parallel shafts with rolls for moving the sheet` under said opening; a second casin inclosing a cutter suspended over said bal ot sheet, a bracket, and spring guides for the cutter, a lever extending through a slot in the second casing for operating the cutter, and a spring for returning the cutter to operative position.

4. In a voting machine, the combination with a shaft carrying a continuous ballot sheet, means for moving said sheet, and indicating a vote, a cutter suspended over the ballot sheet. a bracket, an operating lever pivoted to the bracket and to said cutter,

i spring guides for the cutter, a bar connected to the lever and suspended by a spring, a bell having a rack wheel, and teeth on said bar for engaging said wheel to ring the bell. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLAREXCE E. SPALDlNi.. Witnesses 12min-Sox ELA, tan'rHa POPE. 

